Could you briefly introduce your company?
Among the leading companies supplying additive technologies for industrial 3D printing, – both for polymers and metals – EOS was founded in 1989 and, just this year, it celebrated its 35th anniversary. Established as a start-up near Munich, the company has grown considerably over the years: today, with more than 1,300 employees, it is present in 15 countries over the world and has installed almost 5,000 systems. Besides supplying innovative additive systems, equipped with DMLS and SLS technologies, EOS stands out for its consulting approach, with which it offers its customers an appropriate support and know-how necessary for a strategic, profitable and sustainable use of additive technologies. As a result, EOS has created ADDITIVE MINDS, a division dedicated to consulting services and technical training.
What does BI-MU, and in particular piùAdditive, represent for you?
BI-MU is the most important exhibition for the manufacturing sector and, at the same time, it is a cross-cutting event that covers multiple industries. This special characteristic is exactly its strength and will give us the opportunity to showcase our offerings to a wide and diversified audience. In addition, as founding members of AITA, the Italian Association of Additive Technologies, we cannot miss piùAdditive. Indeed, our role as promoters of the additive culture makes our presence necessary and essential. Our participation will be active and proactive, as for all editions of the initiative.
What are your expectations for the 2024 edition?
We have very positive expectations for the 2024 edition. Indeed, we are sure that we will meet operators interested in approaching additive technologies, not so much as curious people, but rather with a strategic point of view. After all, the period of uncertainty we are experiencing – characterised by a strong sociopolitical instability, a reorganisation of the world production and supply chains and the energy transition – is forcing companies to review their business models. That is exactly where we can see all the benefits of adopting additive manufacturing, a key technology for future advanced manufacturing and for enabling innovation.
| “… the goal of our stand display will be to encourage entrepreneurs to use additive manufacturing as a real production technology, showing our solutions aimed at various sectors …” |
What will you exhibit?
We will present our innovative applications, through concrete examples of companies that have already adopted additive technology, no longer for prototypes but in production. The goal of our stand display will precisely be to encourage entrepreneurs to use additive manufacturing as a real production technology: we will offer the appropriate inputs for future business strategies by showing our solutions aimed at various sectors.
Could you give us some examples?
Our applications on show will target the medical sector, which has embraced additive technologies since long and where we are particularly active in the orthoprosthetic field, the energy and the automotive sectors. But that is not all. We will also give visibility to the world of robotics and automation, as well as to the tooling and assembly, aerospace and fashion sectors. With regard to the latter, we work in the footwear industry, with applications devised both for orthopaedic problem-solving and design products.
How do you see the trend of the additive manufacturing sector?
Several application areas, among which defence, aerospace and aeronautics, are very dynamic and highlight very positive figures and growth trends. The sector is experiencing an interesting development in China and the United States, whereas it has more difficulty in Europe, due to the lack of a common long-term strategy and to the uncertain context. Despite this, investments in additive technologies are however satisfactory: that is why I remain confident about the future. Nevertheless, there are some factors still holding the industry back: the perceived high cost of the technology and the paradigm shift required for its adoption, in addition to the need for specific technical design-related competences that are not yet as widespread.
How can these obstacles be overcome?
Generally, the driver that guides companies in their choice of production technology is cost per part. As EOS, we constantly work to ensure that the final production price of a component, manufactured with our DMLS and SLS technologies, can be competitive and optimal in terms of cost/benefit ratio. Moreover, with its ADDITIVE MINDS division, EOS offers comprehensive consulting and training programmes to accompany and support companies in introducing and profitably using additive manufacturing over time. The market increasingly requires fast and flexible production, digitalisation of warehouses and a focus on circular economy. This is why we will experience a more and more massive adoption of additive manufacturing over time.
Interview released in June 2024.
